Mahmood to reopen UK resettlement scheme for refugees, prioritising Afghan women and Palestinians

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce the reopening of the UK Resettlement Scheme for vulnerable refugees in a speech to the Labour Party conference on Monday, with about one in four arrivals expected to be Afghan women and girls or Palestinians.

The scheme, which lets refugees fleeing war and persecution travel legally to Britain, has been effectively suspended for two years without ever being formally closed. Referrals will resume immediately, principally through the UN refugee agency UNHCR; Palestinians, who fall under a different international mandate, will be referred through the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The Home Office will carry out identity, security, suitability and criminal-record checks before refugees travel. Those arriving through the scheme in 2026–27 will be granted indefinite leave to remain, with a five-year path to permanent settlement.

Mahmood will also announce three new safe routes: community sponsorship and study routes opening to sponsors in October, with a work sponsorship route to follow in spring 2027. Arrivals are expected to start in the hundreds and grow to the low thousands, with an annual cap set each year.

She is expected to say the changes will “unlock the inherent generosity of this country”. But refugee charities and immigration experts have cautioned the numbers are too small to deter asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats.

Sources

• LBC: UK to open new safe and legal routes for refugees fleeing war and persecution (advance report)
• The Times: Afghans and Palestinians among refugees in reopened UK scheme
• The Guardian, via The Jerusalem Post: UK home secretary to restart resettlement program prioritizing Palestinians